Plastering splash apron



May 27, 1969 J. VAN BAEL PLASTIIHINU SPLASH AIHON Original Filed Nov.ii, 1963 United States Patent 26,582 PLASTERING SPLASH APRON Joseph VanBael, 37426 Lakeshore Drive, Mount Clemens, Mich. 49406 Original No.3,290,838, dated Dec. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 322,328, Nov. 8, 1963.Application for reissue June 30, 1967, Ser. No. 653,601

Int. Cl. E04c 1/04; E04h 14/00; E04b 7/18 U.S. Cl. 52-99 15 ClaimsMatter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in the original patent butforms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italicsindicates the additions made by reissue.

The present invention relates to a means and method for protectingfinished plastered side walls of a room or the like during theconstruction or refinishing thereof and relates more particularly to aprotective splash apron which is adapted to protect the finished sidewall while the ceiling of the room is being plastered.

The present invention may be best understood in connection with theplastering of a relatively large room of a commercial building where itis usually common practice to plaster the side walls of the room priorto plastering the ceiling. Heretofore, prior to plastering the ceiling,the mechanic usually takes a large sheet of fabric material such ascanvas and covers the particular side wall as well as any of the metalframe members for doors, windows, ctc., located or mounted therein.Various means have been used to hold the canvas in place. It should beappreciated that such a protective cover is desirable in order toprevent the splashed plaster from contacting the finished plastered sidewall, metal frame members of doors or windows, etc., to preventdeterioration of the metal, staining or marring of the side walls andthe like. It should be further appreciated that such discoloration canspread to other areas and detrimentally detract from the overallappearance of the finished side wall, prior to the application of paint,as well as detract from the appearance of the door and window frames.Often such discolorations cannot be removed from the metal parts. Theuse of protective tapes on metal frame members provide good protectionagainst staining by the plaster but is costly and is practical to useonly upon readily accessible flat surfaces.

Generally speaking, this invention relates to a novel means :and methodfor protecting finished side Walls by providing a barrier or protectivecover over the side walls while the ceiling is being plastered. Themeans of this invention includes the use of flexible plastic sheetmaterial composed of compositions based on thermoplastic resins orpolymers and characterized by resistance to moisture, solvents, acidsand alkalies. The protective splash apron of the invention includes anangle shaped casement bead which forms part of the ceiling supportstructure. The casement bead is arranged longitudinally along the sidewall adjacent the upper edge thereof and is adapted to have connected tothe horizontal flange thereof the metal lath for the ceiling supportstructure. An elongated relatively thin strip of flexible material suchas plastic has the upper marginal longitudinal edge thereofappropriately connected to the top surface of the horizontal flange ofthe casement bead. The vertical flange of the casement bead is laterallyspaced from the finished side wall a relatively short distance such thatthe remaining portion of the strip of flexible material hangs freely inthe space between the finished side Wall and the vertical flange. Thelower marginal longitudinal edge of the strip of flexible materialterminates a relatively short distance below the bottom edge portion ofthe flange. A relatively large sheet of flexible material such asplastic is connected Re. 26,582 Reissued May 27, 1969 to the lowermarginal edge of the strip of material by means of an elongated adhesiveelement or other suitable fastening means. The relatively large sheet offlexible material covers the majority of the remaining portion of theside wall below the casement bead.

The strip of flexible plastic material is very thin, as an example .004"thick, and is provided with a single row of perforations at a pointdirectly and laterally opposite the vertical flange of the easement beadin the space between the vertical flange and the side wall. After theceiling has been plastered, the lower adhesive element is removedthereby removing the relatively large sheet of flexible material, whichmay be retained for subsequent use, from the strip of material. Theportion of the strip of flexible material below the perforations isremoved from the portion of the strip of material above the perforationsby applying a separating force thereto as will be subsequentlyexplained. The lower portion of the strip of material is thrown away.The upper portion of the strip flexible material which remains securedto the casement bead remains in place, hidden from view due to the factthat it is impossible to view the lower edge of the remaining materialthrough the relatively small space provided between the vertical flangeand the side wall.

It is an object of the present invention to disclose and provide a novelprotective means for plastered side walls of a room of a house,commercial building, or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose and provide ameans and method for protecting not only the finished plastered sidewalls but also the door frame members, window frame members, and thelike.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron for use during the plastering of the ceiling of a roomcomprising an elongated support member, an elongated strip of relativelyflexible material, and fastening means connecting the upper longitudinalmarginal edge portion of the strip of material to the support member,the remaining portion of the strip of flexible material hanging freelyfrom the support member, said strip of material being provided withlongitudinally arranged perforations on an intermediate portion thereofto permit the portion of the strip of flexible material below theperforations to be readily removed from the other portion of the stripof flexible material after the ceiling has been plastered.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron for use while plastering the ceiling of a room having afinished plastered side wall, said apron comprising an elongated angleshaped casement bead extending longitudinally along the side wall at theupper edge thereof and constituting part of the support structure forthe ceiling, said casement bead having a substantially verticallyarranged flange laterally spaced from the side wall a relatively shortdistance and a substantially horizontal arranged flange, an elongatedstrip of flexible material having a length approximately equal to thelength of the easement bead, said strip of material having the upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion thereof overlying the top surface ofthe horizontal flange and operatively connected thereto, with theremaining portion thereof hanging substantially freely in a verticalplane in the aforesaid space between the vertical flange and the sidewall, said remaining portion having the lower marginal longitudinal edgethereof spaced below the bottom edge portion of the vertical flange,fastening means for detachably securing a relatively large sheet offlexible material to the lower marginal longitudinal edge of the stripof material, said sheet substantially covering the remaining portion ofthe side wall below the easement bead, said strip being provided withlongitudinally arranged perforations at a point opposite an intermediateportion of the vertical flange to permit the portion of the strip ofmaterial below the perforations to be readily removed from the portionof the strip of flexible material above the perforations after theceiling has been plastered, said strip and sheet of flexible materialprotecting the side wall from splashed plaster while the ceiling isbeing plastered.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide aprotective splash apron of the aforementioned type wherein an elongatedadhesive element is connected on one longitudinal edge portion to theupper longitudinal marginal edge portion of the strip of flexiblematerail and is connected on the other longitudinal edge portion to thetop surface of the horizontal flange, with the adhesive elementextending substantially the entire length of the easement bead.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron of the aforementioned type wherein metal lath is secured tothe longitudinal marginal edge portion of the horizontal flange andforms part of the ceiling support structure.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron of the aforementioned type wherein the strip and/or sheetof flexible material is made from relatively thin plastic material suchas polyethylene or the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron of the aforementioned type wherein the fastening meansincludes an elongated adhesive element which extends substantially theentire length of the strip and sheet of flexible material.

It is thus another object of this invention to provide a simplified lowcost structure of the aforementioned type having certain advantagescontributing to efficiency, reliability and long life as well as ease ofmaintenance.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an upper corner of a room,with certain parts broken away and in cross-section to illustratefeatures of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the upper cornerconstruction illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view in section taken substantially on line 33of FIGURE l and illustrating the manner of removing the flexiblematerial after the ceiling has been plastered.

In the example illustrating this invention in the drawing, an interiorcorner construction of a room of a commercial building is illustrated.The vertical side wall 12 is comprised of plaster or other cementitiousmaterial 13 which is applied to metal lath 14 or the like as isconventional in the art. The ceiling 15 is also of conventionalconstruction and includes the usual floor boards or equivalentsupporting members 16 to which is connected as is well known in the art,metal lath 18 or the like.

The ceiling support structure includes not only the support members 16but also longitudinally extending metal casement beads 19. Each bead 19comprises a horizontal flange 20 and a vertical flange 22 having at thelower marginal edge thereof a relatively short inwardly turned flange24. The casement beads 19 extend along the side walls adjacent the upperedges thereof so as to usually form a continuous uninterrupted endlessbead. The casement beads carry the metal lath 18 as previouslydescribed. The horizontal flange [22] 20 of each casement [head] bead 19is laterally spaced from the front surface of the side wall 12 arelatively short distance as is indicated by the letter X in FIGURE 2.This distance may be, as an example, approximately 15:3". In any event,the back surface 26 of the vertical flange 22 is never located tightlyagainst the finished side wall 12 for a reason which will subsequentlyappear. The size of the space X has been exaggerated in the drawing forpurposes of illustration.

The edges of the metal lath 18 are appropriately secured to thelongitudinal marginal edges of the horizontal flanges 20 by soldering orby other conventional fastening means as is well known in the art.

Prior to erecting each casement bead 19, an elongated strip of flexiblematerial 30 is connected thereto. Initially, the upper longitudinalmarginal edge portion 32 of the strip of flexible material 30 issuperimposed or placed over the flange 20. An elongated adhesive stripor band 33 such as masking tape is secured on one longitudinal edgeportion 34 to the upper edge portion 32 of the strip 30 while theremaining longitudinal portion 36 of the band 33 is secured to the metalflange 20 as best illustrated in FIGURE 1. The strip of flexiblematerial 30 and the adhesive band or tape 33 each has a length approximately equal to the length of the metal casement head 19.

As an example, the easement head 19 may be of any length, with thehorizontal flange having a width of 1' while the vertical flange is /4wide. The strip of flexible material is 7 wide with approximately /2"thereof superimposed over the horizontal flange. The band or tape 33 is1" wide or in other words equal in width to the flange 22.

The strip of flexible material 33 is provided with a singlelongitudinally extending row of perforations 40 which are located nearthe upper marginal longitudinal edge such that when the strip 30 is inplace as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the perforations 40 are located abovethe bottom edge portion of the flange 24. The perforations 40 thusdivide the strip 30 into upper and lower portions 42 and 44 respectivelyand are located in the example previously stated approximately l /i fromthe upper longitudinal marginal edge of the strip of flexible material30.

The strip of flexible material 30 particularly adapted for the presentinvention is made from an impervious, inert, non-reactive plasticmaterial. Such plastic material may be based upon the thermoplasticresins or polymers including selected compounds to provide a plasticbarrier or cover characterized by resistance to tearing, moisture,solvents, acids, and alkalies, by suflicient compliance and flexibilityto permit ready mounting as previously de scribed, and by resistance toaging. Such plastic material may include polyethylene and compoundsthereof, vinyl polymers, and cellulose derivatives. A polyethyl enestrip 30 has been used successfully and has a thickness of .004". Thus,when the easement bead 19 is properly mounted the vertical portion ofthe strip 30 is substantially freely suspended and extends through therelatively narrow space X described previously and terminatesapproximately 6" below the bottom flange 24.

It will be further appreciated that the height of ceilings varydepending on the particular building. Assuming that a 10 high ceiling isused it is necessary to provide an additional relatively large sheet offlexible material to cover the remaining 9 /2 of side wall.

The present invention includes a relatively large sheet of flexiblematerial 48 having a length approximately equal to the length of theeasement head 19 or strip 30 and of a Slll'IlClCIlt size to cover theremaining exposed area of the plastered side wall 12. The same type ofmaterial may be used for the sheet 48 as used for the strip 30. Incertain cases canvas could be used. It is important to remember howeverthat the strip 30 carries the weight of the sheet or cover 48.

It has been found, when polyethylene is used for both the strip 30 andcover 48 that a 1" wide elongated adhesive band or masking tape 50 maybe used which extends the entire length of the strip 30. The opposite1ongitudinal edge portion of the strip 30 and cover 48 are over lappedas illustrated in the drawing. It should be understood that otherappropriate fastening means may be utilized in place of the strip 50 tosuspend the cover 48 from the strip 30.

After the cover 48 has been suspended in the manner just described, themechanic can then proceed and plaster the ceiling 15. With the presentinvention any plaster or other cementitious material which is splashedwill collect on the splash apron without marring or staining thefinished plastered side walls, windows, and doors and window frames.

When the plastering of the ceiling has been completed, or when thatportion of the ceiling adjacent the side wall is completed, the adhesivestrip 50 is removed so as to separate the cover 48 from the lowerportion 44 of the strip 30. The cover 48 may be cleaned and subsequentlyreused. A force is then applied to the lower portion 44 so as toseparate or break the perforations 40 and thereby remove the lowerportion 44 from the upper portion 42 of the strip 30. The lower portion44 may be discarded or used for other purposes.

The upper portion 42 of the strip 30 remains permanently in place, withthe lower edge thereof hidden from view due to the fact that the space Xis very small.

The drawing and the foregoing specification constitute a description ofthe improved plastering equipment in such full, clear, concise and exactterms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice theinvention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A protective splash apron [for use during the plastering of theceiling of a room or the like] comprising an elongated angle shapecasement bead having a horizonta] flange, a strip of flexible materialhaving the upper longitudinal edge portion superimposed over the topsurface of said horizontal flange, fastening means for operativelyconnecting said upper longitudinal edge portion to said horizontalflange, said fastening means comprising an elongated adhesive elementsecured along one longitudinal edge to the upper longitudinal marginaledge portion of said strip of material and secured along the otherlongitudinal edge to said casement bead, the remaining portion of saidstrip of material hanging freely along the outer surface of saidvertical flange and terminating a predetermined distance below thebottom edge portion of said vertical flange, a [reusable] sheet offlexible material, and means for detachably connecting said sheet to thelower longitudinal marginal edge portion of said strip of material at apoint below said casement bead, said means comprising an elongated stripof adhesive material secured along one longitudinal edge portion to thelower longitudinal marginal edge portion of said strip of material andsecured along the other longitudinal edge portion to the upper portionof said sheet of flexible material, said strip of material being[provided with longitudinally arranged perforations] sever-able at atear zone located laterally and directly opposite from an intermediateportion of said vertical flange to permit the portion of said strip ofmaterial below [the perforations] said tear zone to be readily removedfrom the [other] upper portion of said strip of material [after theceiling has been plas tered].

2. A protective splash apron for use [during the plastering of theceiling of] with a room or the like having a sidewall comprising anelongated angle shape casement bead extending longitudinally along theside wall at the upper edge thereof, said head having a [horizontal]vertical flange spaced from the side wall a relatively short distanceand defining a relatively narrow clearance space therebetween and a[vertical] horizontal flange, a strip of flexible material having theupper longitudinal edge portion superimposed over the top surface ofsaid horizontal flange, fastening means for operatively connecting saidupper longitudinal edge portion to said horizontal flange, the remainingportion of said strip of material hanging freely from said [head] beadin a vertical plane through the aforesaid clearance space along theouter surface of said vertical flange and terminating a predetermineddistance below the bottom edge portion of said vertical flange, and asheet of flexible material detachably connected to the lower marginaledge of said strip of material [prior to plastering the ceiling], saidstrip of material being [provided with longitudinally arrangedperforations] severable at a tear zone located in said clearance spacedirectly opposite from an intermediate portion of said vertical flangeto permit the portion of said strip of material below [the perforations]said tear zone to be readily removed from the [other] upper portion ofsaid strip of material [after the ceiling has been plastered], thebottom [perforated] edge of said [other] upper portion of the strip ofmaterial being substantially hidden from view in the aforesaid clearancespace.

3. A protective splash apron for use [while plastering the ceiling of]with a room or the like having a [finished plastered] ceiling and a sidewall, said apron comprising an elongated angle shaped casement beadextending longitudinally along the side wall at the upper edge thereofand constituting part of the support structure for the ceiling, saidcasement bead having a substantially vertically arranged flangelaterally spaced from the side wall a relatively short distance and asubstantially horizontally arranged flange, an elongated strip offlexible material having a length approximately equal to the length ofsaid casement bead, said strip of material having the upper longitudinalmarginal edge portion thereof overlying the top surface of saidhorizontal flange and operatively connected thereto, with the remainingportion thereof hanging substantially freely in a vertical plane in theaforesaid space between said vertical flange and the side wall, saidremaining portion having the lower marginal longitudinal edge thereofspaced below the bottom edge portion of said vertical flange, fasteningmeans for detachably securing a relatively large sheet of flexiblematerial to said lower marginal longitudinal edge of said strip, saidsheet substantially covering the remaining portion of the side wallbelow said casement bead, said strip being [provided with longitudinallyarranged perforations at a point opposite] severable at a tear zoneadjacent an intermediate portion of said vertical flange to permit theportion of the strip of material below the [perforations] tear zone tobe readily removed from the portion of said strip of material above the[perforations after the ceiling has been plastered], tear zone, saidstrip and sheet of flexible material protecting the side wall [fromsplashed plaster while the ceiling is being plastered].

4. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein said upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion of said strip of flexible material isconnected to the top surface of said horizontal flange by means of anelongated adhesive element which extends substantially the entire lengthof said casement head.

5. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein metal lath issecured to the longitudinal marginal edge portion of said horizontalflange.

6. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein said strip offlexible material is relatively thin plastic material.

7. The protective splash apron defined in claim 6 wherein said plasticmaterial is polyethylene.

8. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein said fasteningmeans includes an elongated adhesive element which extends substantiallythe entire length of said strip and sheet of flexible material.

9. A protective splash apron for use [while plastering] with the ceilingand side wall of a room [having a finished side wall], said aproncomprising an elongated casement bead extending longitudinally along theside wall at the upper edge thereof, said casement bead having asubstantially horizontally arranged surface and a substantiallyvertically arranged surface laterally spaced from the side wall arelatively short distance and defining a relatively narrow clearancespace therebetween, an elongated strip of flexible material having alength approximately equal to the length of said casement bead, saidstrip of material having the upper longitudinal marginal edge portionthereof overlying said horizontal surface and operatively connectedthereto, with the remaining portion of said strip of material hangingsubstantially freely from said casement bead in a vertical plane throughthe aforesaid clearance space between said vertical surface and the sidewall, said remaining portion of said strip of material having the lowermargin longitudinal edge thereof spaced below the bottom edge portion ofsaid vertical surface, fastening means for detachably securing arelatively large sheet of flexible material to said lower marginallongitudinal edge of said strip, said sheet substantially covering theremaining portion of the side wall below said casement bead, said stripbeing [provided with longitudinally arranged perforations] severable ata tear zone located [in] adjacent said clearance space directly oppositean intermediate portion of said vertical surface to permit the portionof the strip of material below the [perforations] tear zone to bereadily removed from the portion of said strip of material above the[perforations after the ceiling has been plastered] tear zone, saidstrip and sheet of flexible material protecting the side wall [fromsplashed plaster while the ceiling is being plastered].

10. The protective splash apron defined in claim 9 wherein saidfastening means includes an elongated adhesive element which extendssubstantially the entire length of said strip and sheet of flexiblematerial.

11. A protective splash apron for use [while plastering] with theceiling and side wall of a room [having a finished side wall], saidapron comprising an elongated casement bead extending longitudinallyalong the side wall at the upper edge thereof, said casement bead havinga substantially horizontally arranged surface and a substantiallyvertically arranged surface laterally spaced from the side wall arelatively short distance and defining a relatively narrow clearancespace therebetween, flexible material means for substantially coveringthe side wall, said flexible material means having a lengthsubstantially equal to the length of said casement bead, said flexiblematerial means having the upper longitudinal marginal edge portionthereof overlying said horizontal surface and operatively connectedthereto, with the remaining portion of said flexible material meanshanging substantially freely from said casement bead in a vertical planethrough the aforesaid clearance space between said vertical surface andthe side wall to substantially cover the side wall, said flexiblematerial means being divided into an upper portion and a lower portion,with [the demarkation between] said upper and lower portions [defined byan elongated roll of longitudinally arranged perforations located in]being severable along a line adjacent said clearance space [directlyopposite an intermediate portion of said vertical surface] to permit thelower portion of the flexible material means below the [perforations]line to be readily removed from the upper portion of said flexiblematerial means [after the ceiling has been plastered], said flexiblematerial means protecting the side Wall [from splashed plaster while theceiling is being plastered], the bottom [perforated] edge of said upperportion upon removal of the lower portion from said flexible materialmeans being substantially hidden from view [in] adjacent the aforesaidclearance space.

12. The protective splash apron defined in claim 11 wherein said upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion is connected to said horizontalsurface by means for an elongated adhesive element which extendssubstantially the entire length of said casement bead.

13. The protective splash apron defined in claim 11 wherein saidflexible material means is made from relatively thin plastic material.

14. In combination, an elongated casement bead having an angle-shapedcross-section and adapted to form a part of the support structure of aroom, said casement bead having a pair of integrally connected flanges,each of said flanges having an inner surface and an outer surface, theouter surface of one of said flanges in use being laterally spaced arelatively short distance from a surface of the room to be protected todefine a clearance space therebetween, a protective splash aproncomprising a strip of flexible material having longitudinally extendingedge portions, one of said edge portions being superimposed over and incontact with the outer surface of one of said flanges, said fasteningmeans connecting said one edge portion of said strip of flexiblematerial to the outer surface of said last-mentioned one flange with theremaining portion of said strip of flexible material extending throughthe aforesaid clearance space, with the other of said edge portionsterminating at a distance from said casement bead and extending acrossthe surface of the room to protect same, said strip of flexible materialbeing severable along a line adjacent an edge of one of said flanges.

15. The structure defined in claim 14 wherein said strip of flexiblematerial is provided with a tear zone arranged generally parallel tosaid longitudinal extending edge portions, said tear zone being locatedclosest to said one edge portion and laterally opposite a flange of saidcasement bead.

References Cited The following references, cited by the Examiner, are ofrecord in the patented file of this patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,631,825 3/1953 Zeitler 52-221 X 3,023,464 3/1962Zerbe 52-127 X 3,205,628 9/1965 Frisk 52r-63 X FOREIGN PATENTS 909, 1 5111/1945 France.

643,419 9/ 1950 Great Britain.

862,898 3/ 1961 Great Britain.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

